"Charmingly Southern" describes Elloree on one side of a white promotional coffee mug. My mother, Brenda, and her husband, Michael, had moved from their early retirement home in Florida to the outskirts of this well-preserved town in rural South Carolina in the southeast of the United States. Images of Elloree and elsewhere in South Carolina fill my shop this month.

Cotton is everywhere in the south. The plant is a waist-high shrub with white plumes of lint at the tips of its branches. Dark seeds remain trapped in the fibres and need to be separated out after harvest. White fluff from excess tufts of cotton clogs the gutters by the side of the road.



The state parks trim the edge of a vast lake created for power generation and whose most dangerous inhabitants loiter with intent just beneath the surface of the water. Alligators and the threat of instant, horrible death are omnipresent. Perhaps because the countryside of my childhood had no such danger beyond the odd snake, I feel supremely nervous in a place of such serene beauty as the lakeside in the early morning. My paranoia feels justified when my mother and I see three massive, car-length alligators sunning themselves on a walk through another nearby park.

Despite the culture shock - visiting not just the United States but also a part of the country whose contours are so different to those of rural New Jersey or of London - I remember so many happy things: moments of peace in the mornings, pleasure from discovering abandoned places, humour in the rapidity with which my mum fled from those alligators, kindness from Michael who fixed my camera like a pro and a splendid Thanksgiving dinner.

Read my latest newsletter for more, including thoughts on returning to England from America several years ago. For a darker, David Lynch-esque exploration of South Carolina, see my photo essay, Death in America.The next issue of my newsletter will publish on 2 February, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 07 - January 2012

"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew. "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round -- apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that -- as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!" - from "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

We need more days like this throughout "the long calendar of the year". If my art means anything, if there is one effect I fervently wish to create, it is this: stop, see, question, learn something new, love freely and openly, live in fragments no longer.



Read my latest newsletter for more, including a story of injuries and ice skating at Somerset House from several Christmases ago. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 10 January, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 06 - December 2011

How long do you spend looking at a painting in a gallery? Do you walk past the pictures and then circle back to a particular work that caught your eye? Or do you go from painting to painting and spend one, two, three minutes and gaze? Why do you examine this work, but not that one? On a visit to the Tate in Pimlico this weekend, I spent several minutes in front of a painting by William Turner and immersed myself in the smear and swirl of colours that recall mornings spent watching the sun seep through fog until it blinds me. I love to I point my camera into the sun and see what we are not necessarily meant to see.



Read my latest newsletter for more musings, including a story about a particularly charming urban fox. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 6 December, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 05 - November 2011

I love graveyards, churchyards and burial grounds. These spaces invite contemplation and remembrance. Sometimes I catch myself thinking that no connection exists between myself and the dead. But there is. Like so many of my beloved places - cathedrals, forests, empty offices with a view of the city - graveyards provoke curiosity about what came before I existed and what, if anything, will remain of me when my body ceases to be. Although some gravestones tell of tragedy and calamitous loss, I marvel at the intensity of the love expressed in so many of the inscriptions. What will be said of us, if anything, when we die?



And in my shop just in time for Halloween: gothic pictures of fog, mist and mystery.

Read my latest newsletter for more, including a remembrance of an old mentor of mine. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 8 November, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 04 - October 2011

What gloriously hot and summery weather we’ve had in England this week. I filled my days with rambles across Ilkley Moor; some of my evenings with picnics back home on Hampstead Heath; and a daybreak or two throughly enjoying the first fog of the year. Warm days and cool nights result in misty mornings.

I love making portraits because of my endless curiosity about people: who they are, how they live, what they think and feel. Despite being lightly acquainted with most of my clients, I strive to convey a flash of insight into another person’s existence through my images. With insight comes empathy and, I hope, understanding.

I was really humbled by these two testimonials from recent clients:

"As an actor, I usually find photo shoots daunting. You're not hiding behind a character, you're baring your soul. After my shoot with John, I realised it's not so bad to bare a little of your soul.

When I pose for photos I like to be told exactly what to do. John knew exactly what he wanted and this made me feel very secure. From the moment we started the shoot, John made me feel very at ease and relaxed. He really brings out the 'true you' in pictures and he does this by getting to know you while he takes the photos.

With his mix of great camera skills and genuine interest in his client, John produced some terrific photos. I thoroughly enjoyed the shoot and will most definitely be using John again for my headshots." - William



“Merci beaucoup John pour cette belle journée de travail en ta compagnie,
je suis ravie de notre séance photo, très bel univers,
merci pour ton écoute et ton attention,
un vrai bonheur!”

And in English: “Thank you so much John for this beautiful day’s work in your company. I am delighted with our photoshoot, it all looks very beautiful. Thank you for your attention and care, a true joy!” - Alexandra Sallé

If you’re a performer who needs headshots or portfolio images - or indeed if you simply would love a unique portrait of yourself or a loved one - please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

In my adult life, London has been my home longest. My flâneur wanderings through the city leave me ecstatically overstimulated by the rush of humanity and the chaos of unfamiliar shops, signage and goods for sale. Even in neighbourhoods I know well, the churn of street commerce and businesses opened and closed and opened regularly affords fresh opportunities for discovery. After each expedition, I retain a palpable visual geography of every place through which I have passed. Contours, colours and whole casts of characters summon up a physical response. When I view a map, place names evoke instantaneous images and complete scenes compile in my head. I remember Sunday music seeping from of a prodigiously tall and long brick church discoloured from a hundred or so years of smog; city girls shorn of their pumps scrunching their toes in the grass of Highbury Fields; tracing the path of the vanished Fleet River in Kentish Town and an abandoned railway line in Highgate; partial rainbows over the Serpentine; roast lunch at Kenwood after hiking through a soaking rain on Hampstead Heath.

The pictures in my shop this month piece together a taxonomy of remembered spaces and a life experienced and, one hopes, fully lived. I love London.



Read my latest newsletter for more, including the conclusion of my Italian romance, “Where Here and Now Cease To Matter”. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 4 October, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 03 - September 2011

I came across an old letter to a friend last week and it reminded me of a favourite C.K. Chesterton quotation: "The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see".

My enduring fascination with perception leads me to carefully consider what is and what I perceive to be - and try and pick the two apart as best I can. The deliberation forced by the process of developing film, scanning the results and considering each frame in Photoshop pleases me greatly. Part aide-memoir, part artefact, part disconnected object laden with its own meaning, the images collect in my imagination like autumn leaves - faded from what they were, but brilliant in burnished colours.

Since August is a time for holidays and sunshine (I'll be spending this month in London, so fingers crossed for Hampstead), this month the shop is stocked with luminous images from my travels in Italy.




This is the view from a scrumptious, romantic dinner at Trattoria da Billy in Manarola, one of the villages of the Cinque Terre. It’s also the cover image for a forthcoming photo book being released in November titled Where Here and Now Cease To Matter. Read my latest newsletter for an excerpt, to be continued next month. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 6 September, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 02 - August 2011

It’s been a busy and rewarding July: creating new images around London and working with some fabulous clients. Here are two recent testimonials:

"I would like to finally take this opportunity to talk about John as I think the world should know about him. He's a man full of surprises, blessed with a magnificent talent and a magnificent sense of communication, and he knew straight away how to place my trust in him and put me at ease.

With John, one never wastes time; you experience his passion perfectly before it emerges that he's already taken some 'test shots' which turn out later to be just as brilliant as those taken during the shoot itself. John is not one of those photographers who messes around and luckily snatches one of two usable photos. No, John takes his time, prepares his frame, and when he snaps, it's an unparalleled work of art that emerges from his lens.

John is in the ascendant at the moment, and will only get better in the professional arena; I forecast that it won't be long until his shooting star becomes amongst the biggest in photography." - Nafil

“I really enjoyed modelling for John and loved discovering an incredible new place in London.” - Clélia

It was an absolute pleasure to work with them both and really appreciate their kind words.

I also launched my first newsletter! Every month I will share a brief note from my travels, showcase some new work on sale and keep you up to date on forthcoming exhibitions. The next issue will appear in your inbox on 1 August, so subscribe now.

Read: Tales of a Flaneur Newsletter 01 - July 2011

Along with my fugitive images in mist and fog, I also specialise in creating distinctive, beautiful portrait photographs that capture the individuality of the sitter. Unlike most professional photographers who use digital cameras to take multiple images in pre-defined poses and settings, I use traditional medium format and 35mm film to give each image a truly unique look and feel.

Portrait Gallery: You are the People



My approach is to photograph the client in his or her everyday world: at home, in a well-loved place or outside in a place of natural beauty, not in a studio. Typically, my clients and I spend 30 mins over a cup of coffee or tea to make sure we're both clear about what we'd like to achieve before we get started. This can be done on the day or in advance, as specified by you.

As an option, I offer a printing service at an additional fee - for example, large format prints, canvases or a photo book - this is fully flexible, and your requirements can be discussed once you have seen the final images.

I also provide a high-quality service making actors' head shots as well as more stylised portraits, sometimes in the style of a particular film, that show the unique personality of the performer.

The key to what I do is providing a personal service that gives the client a set of images they will love, so please don't hesitate to drop me a line with questions or to book a session.

I have waited to escape childhood.
I have waited to explore the city.
I have waited to exchange one country for another.
I have waited to forget and to remember.
I have waited until my term of service ended.
I have waited whilst an audience waited for me to begin.
I have waited for the bus, the taxi, the train and the plane.
I have waited for a lover at the Underground station.
I have waited until words came to describe my love.
I have waited for someone to purchase a picture.
I have waited until words came to describe my despair.
I have waited to return to the countryside.
I have waited with Ferlinghetti and with the old man in a dry month.
I have waited for you, here.

Although you're experiencing my work online, these images look gorgeous on one's desk or wall - tangible objects and mementos of a visceral experience, a keenly felt moment.

I prefer to create custom pieces that perfectly fit a given space and mood so please drop me a line and talk about which images you love and would like to bring into your life.

I also licence my images for television, web sites, blogs, corporate presentations and for printed media. Please e-mail me with as many details as possible, such as where and how it will be used and your required size and resolution.

Images change on the first of every month (next set will be available 1 July), so please do stop by again and I’m sure something will intrigue or delight you.

Visit the shop

In my wandering around the world, I repeatedly seek the refuge and solace of cathedrals and churches. Quite apart from any faith in dogma or creed, these soaring structures provide sanctuary for me. As with graveyards, country meadows and abandoned buildings, in a cathedral my mind can relax and unspool dreams in a space crafted for contemplation.

Read more and see images from my journeys: St Alban’s and Norwich Cathedral in England, Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and in Italy, a cupola from the birthplace of the Jesuits in Genova and an altar decorated for a marriage in Portovenere near where Byron and Shelley used to take a dip in the sea.

What quality of snow provokes such an overwhelming desire to be out in it? The impulse to drench oneself in snow feels decadent, sensual and in defiance of one's first instinct to remain warm indoors. Perhaps the sudden appearance of a new, rare (in some climes) substance that one shapes and moulds into weapons, dwellings or impermanent sculptures induces a kind of creative euphoria?

Read more about an adventure in the snow and see where we go ...

On the same journey to Athol, Massachusetts in the United States where I learnt about the “state of the union”, I also toured and photographed the vast workshop of Cambium Corporation, wood casket manufacturers.

When I first saw the building, I thought it abandoned like so many other 19th Century brick buildings in that part of America. A friendly fellow saw me taking pictures and told me it still functioned as a factory, though the product changed from shoes to caskets and some custom wood pieces. I rang the owner, arranged to meet and had a very cordial time, indeed. The owner drew on his background as an engineer to custom refit the woodworking machines and create a splendidly logical workflow which sprawled along several stories in the building. His tour led me past the raw planks of wood, along the conveyor belts where the planks were cut, joined, lacquered and polished, the machines that created the ornamentation and decorative patterns, the sewing stations where they stitched the interiors. I marvelled at this remarkable display of precision manufacturing. One doesn’t think small firms like this manufactured anything these days and certainly not something with such warmth and detail in the final product.

A very warm thank you to everyone who stopped by the Old Truman Brewery to see some images from my Tales of a Flaneur. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to everyone who inquired about my work and to my fellow image-makers holding exhibitions of their own (the duo behind Miss Aniela being particularly cheeky in their use of abandoned spaces; I love the slippery sense of identity that fuels the “Abandoned” series).

The most rewarding aspect of these eclectic public shows is the random connections one makes. It’s nice to cease my flaneurism for a weekend and root myself in time and space and exchange ideas, find work I love and loathe and generally have my perspective and assumptions about ... everything ... challenged.

And thank you as well to Tamsin and Rhiannon at The Old Truman Brewery and to the organisers of Photomonth!

Mysterious and etherial photographs from foggy Hampstead and the misty Thames (and more) will be part of this year’s Phototolounge at the Old Truman Brewery.

Opening Night View
Thursday 14 October 6pm - 9pm
Old Truman Brewery
15 Hanbury Street
E1 6QR
Facebook page for the opening night view.

The show continues over the weekend:
14 - 17 October
Open daily 11am - 6pm

If you’re interested in any piece from the show send me an e-mail.

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The Photomonth Photolounge is an exciting new project introducing emerging and established photographers, each with their own independent exhibition in the lounge. The project is a collaboration between the Old Truman Brewery and Alternative Arts as part of the Photomonth celebrations.

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I’m also thrilled to see my image, Hampstead Dreams, on the cover of the Photomonth guide (available throughout London and from the Photomonth web site)

On a recent journey to visit family in the quiet mill town of Athol in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, I woke at dawn one morning and saw a deliciously thick fog outside.

Fog always thrills me and compels me, whatever the hour, to put on my shoes and explore. Like a heavy snowfall, a thick fog allows me a view of an altered world where only the strongest of details emerge from what otherwise is a jumble of bewildering details. It’s a reduction, a distillation of reality through which I sift and consider and bring some images home with me.

On this morning, the sunshine proved too intense, too quickly and I only found a single image: a small house on Silver Lake Street with the sign “This is the State of the Union”. The sound of cheery classical music belied the grim condition of the exterior.

I made a couple of exposures and continued walking down the road. After several minutes, I heard someone calling “hey, hello, you!” A fellow with a moustache and long hair asked me if I was taking photos of his house and would I like to know the meaning behind the sign.

Despite his somewhat flustered manner (he had run quite a long way to catch up to me), he seemed engaging so I accepted his offer of coffee and a chat. He had recently bought the house and the interior was sparsely furnished, but startlingly new and in fine nick. He and I talked for nearly an hour about his time in the military as a mechanic repairing jets, the scandal of the bank bailouts. He explained the meaning of the sign:

“Isn’t me that’s lost it, it’s them.” He quoted a Melissa Etheridge lyric: “‘they never woke up from the American dream’. We all think we’re that we’re equal, we all can achieve greatness. So everybody’s entitled to a house and a car and a family. But that’s not the way it is anymore. But people are still living that illusion. And so when I sat in the chair and looked out, I saw all these people who competing with a system that’s falling apart from the inside.”

He also read me several of his poems and I recorded a piece about knights and magicians.

MP3 of the poem, Enchantment

http://twitter.com/talesofaflaneur

For the past ten years I have kept a journal and made pictures of significant and quotidian moments. I don’t often photograph what I write about and rarely explore the content of my images with words. I like to think I choose the most appropriate medium for a given subject and try my damnedest to evoke the moment or the sensation or the idea. The constraints of a micro-narrative, of picture and caption, inherent in the Twitter syndication system intrigues me. I love short works of fiction (after all Poe helped invent the form) and I find that my new iPhone is the perfect tool to deliver these little picture and caption pieces via Twitter. This is an experiment, so please do let me know what you think.

Thank you to everyone who came to see me in Brighton last weekend in Nevermore, An Evening with Poe. Your generous response to a show that lay dormant for many years thrilled me beyond words. Many thanks also to The Old Police Cells Museum and the kind people at Brighton Town Hall for hosting the show in the deliciously decayed sub-basement of the building. I’ll have some images from the show next week and perhaps a review or two will appear in the digital ether. I’m planning on bringing the show to London, so subscribe to my podcast or my Poe page for further details!

And now back to photography and my travels through the city and the landscape of my mind.

Come see my one-man show, Nevermore, An Evening with Poe at the Brighton Fringe - 20, 21, 22 May 2010!

Once upon a midnight dreary, mingle with master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, in an absinthe-laced performance on May 20, 21, 22 at 8pm and May 22 at 4pm at the Brighton Fringe. John Matthews is Poe in this intense and intimate monologue in which Poe recounts the agonies and passions of his life and dramatises some of his most famous work including "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart". Purchase tickets from the Fringe box office for the following performances:

• 20 May at 8pm
• 21 May at 8pm
• 22 May at 4pm
• 22 May at 8pm

Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to my images at this year's Photofair yesterday at Spitalfields. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and seeing all the terrific work on display. A number of people requested images at custom sizes and placing orders online. The images on display at the show are available in the following sizes and accept cash, cheques and credit cards:

• Framed & mounted (A2, image size A3)
• Mounted on museum board, ready to hang (A3)
• Mounted (11x14 inches, image size 8x10 inches)

I'm happy to create images for you at a custom size and mount option, so please don't hesitate to drop me a line with your requirements.

I spent a gorgeous long weekend away in Kent and Sussex for my birthday in June and have been busy creating new photographic delights. I also happened upon a video I made with a friend in 2001. In the untitled piece, I glumly wander through a post-911 Hoboken to the tune of Sting’s rendition of Angel Eyes. It’s both the culmination of many, many years of making similar videos (me wandering through empty landscapes in search of a pretty girl or mourning something that’s been lost) and the start of my professional flaneurism.

The image “Serene” from my series Riverside Enigmas is on display at the Viewfinder Gallery in Greenwich, London from 10 January to 1 February 2009. It’s a terrific space and very near the Thames Path where I made these riverside images.

I photograph absence and longing as they reverberate across urban and rural landscapes. Through my wandering, I often immerse myself in outre situations and encounter people worth recalling later. I am a cultural migrant who finds peace in liminal, transitional spaces. The past forever manifests itself in the present. I slip from moment to moment; unsure of the time, but always knowing the place.

Will I ever find home again?